Nepal At Last!

Today was the last day of our long overland driving trip.  We started our day with an hour long drive over another 5,200 meter pass where we hoped to have amazing views.  Sadly, it was foggy and misty so we had no visibility.  Outside and inside of the non-heated bus, it was crazily cold, so Melissa and I got inside our sleeping bags and were warm as worms.  We journeyed down the far side of the pass, and the weather started to clear up.  The landscape remained completely barren until suddenly everything changed.

We turned onto a road that lead us in to the depths of a gorge.  We were leaving the Tibetan plateau, dropping 2000 meters in elevation.  The road had many switchbacks and gave us a great view of a torrential river at the bottom of the gorge.  From a kayaker’s point of view, the river was continuous class 4-6 water and most sections were unrunable.  There was amazing vegetation, with a jungle like appearance. We soon entered the small Chinese border town on the hill.  All the buildings were literally built into the hill.  The people wore mostly Nepalese attire, which looks like a combination of Indian and Tibetan clothing.  We arrived at Chinese customs and had to go through an annoying departure process that was not as bad as we all had expected.  Also, getting our Nepalese visa was quicker than excepted, and we were all soon official Nepalese tourists. 

My parents, Melissa, Blair and Elise, and I were picked up by a bus going to the Last Resort, where we will be staying for the next two nights.  Nepal is amazing and exotic.  From the window of the bus, we saw chickens and goats running around the streets, and people wearing traditional Nepalese attire. The chaotic streets are covered with garbage, the air is humid, and the buildings are run down.   We arrived the Last Resort, but this is no ordinary hotel. On this large piece of land, there are tents for sleeping, a dining room, a plunge pool and a sauna.  There are also opportunities to bungie jump, canyon swing, take a high rope course, repel off cliffs, and explore canyons. 

I am excited to be away from the controlling Chinese government, and think I will have a nice relaxing night here at the adventure resort.

Thank you for reading Rohan Geographic!     

Viewing Mt. Everest

Today, we got up early to view the sunrise on Mt. Everest.  We left our hotel in the town of Shegar at six o’clock in the morning.  When we arrived at the first 5,000 meter pass, the sun was still bellow the horizon.  We walked outside and it was freezing!  My dad and mom walked up a hill but Melissa and I stayed in the warm bus.  The sun finally came out and we got good shots of the massive snowy mountain!

After the pass, we drove for several hours through farm lands with increasing views of Mt. Everest.  We finally arrived at Mt. Everest Base Camp! 

To enter Mt. Everest Base Camp, we had to go through many check points and passport checks.  We were not allowed to bring any sort of flag to the camp and we were told that there were probably many undercover Chinese spies.  We cannot bring flags because the Chinese think it is a symbol of disobedience.  The view was still spectacular, and we had a great time!  We later ate lunch at a monastery near the camp and explored the stupas and yaks.  This monastery, at 5,200 meters, is the highest in the world. 

We than drove on a dirt rode to the town of Tingri.  This place appears poorer than other Tibetan towns.   Seeing people farming with horses and naked kids running in the street made this area seem more exotic.  Our hotel is filthy, stinky, and run down.
 
Tomorrow we drive over one more high pass then cross the border into the low lands of Nepal and end our overland journey.

Thank you for reading Rohan Geographic!

A Day Full of Spirit and Monasteries

Today was our second day on an epic overland journey from Lhasa to Nepal.  In the morning, we visited the local Gyantse Kumbun Monastery.  We entered the monastery through a row of flowers and prayer wheels.  To the left of us was a huge stupa that one could enter and climb to the top.  To the right, was a complex of monastery buildings decorated with golden ornamentation.  The monastery was not open yet, so we decided to hit the stupa first.  Inside the stupa were rooms with statues of the Buddha.  On the top of the stupa was a circular walk way looking out over the town.  We climbed down the stupa and found the monastery open.  The monastery was dark and smoky from the burning of incense.  The air was full of the rich smell of yak butter candles burning.  I was impressed by the stunningly beautiful Buddha statues and the peaceful monks.  

From Gyantse, we drove for several hours through rolling hills and desolate landscape until we crossed a 5,200 meter high pass, turned a corner and saw a beautiful site.  In the distance was a tall snow covered peak, Mt. Everest.  The weather was amazing and there were no clouds covering the summit.  We drove for another 30 minutes until we reached the town of Shegar where we would spend the night.      

Our First View of Mt. Everst

Before we reached the hotel, we still had one more adventure.  We took a short walk up to a local monastery sitting on a knife edge ridge over looking the town of Shegar.  On our way up the mountain, we passed traditional houses and prayer wheels.  On arrival at the monastery, we saw monks playing a dice game outside of the monastery.  We were curious to learn more.  We found out that monks had just completed one month and fifteen days of continuous prayer.  Our guide, Tsewang, told us that they were celebrating the completion of their meditation.  The monks invited me to join in the game.  The game involved slamming a wooden bowel with dice down on a yak skin pad.  I played but did not understand the rules.



Inside the monastery, I was standing in front of a massive Buddha statue, when taking off my prayer beads they snapped into many pieces and fell to the ground.  We all thought this was very auspicious.  A monk placed the beads on the alter and told me that I was blessed by Buddha.  We finished touring the monastery and then headed back down the hill. On the walk down, I had a big group of Tibetan children following me and laughing and running.  They were super nice, and I even taught them some English words. 

We arrived at the hotel to soft beds and a short night’s rest.  In the morning, we will wake at five o’clock to see sunrise over Mt. Everest.  I am excited to visit Everest Base Camp tomorrow and complete another long day of the journey.

Thank you for reading Rohan Geographic!